The present invention generally relates to a vehicle body panel mounting system, and in particular to a mounting system for attaching a vehicle body panel to improve the aerodynamics and appearance of the vehicle.
Many vehicles, particularly commercial trucks, often have exposed fuel tanks, battery compartments, tool boxes, and the like. The exposed areas create considerable airflow disturbances, thereby reducing fuel economy. As a result, it is desirable to cover the exposed areas with a body panel that decreases the airflow disturbances and increases fuel economy.
There are commonly known systems that mount a body panel to a vehicle. Many of these systems, however, require a large number of attachment points using only bolts or screws. This makes the removal/installation of the body panel a time consuming and labor intensive process. Furthermore, while it is often desirable to have easy access to components located behind the body panel, these systems do not make it practical to frequently open or remove the body panel to access components located behind the body panel.
Other systems of mounting a body panel to a vehicle do not have a modular design that can be adapted to many different vehicles. For example, some mounting systems are only designed for a left-side body panel. Hence, such mounting systems can not be used to mount a right-side body panel and different parts would need to be designed and manufactured to mount a right-side body panel. Furthermore, some mounting systems are only designed for one particular size of body panel. Thus, there is a need for a body panel mounting system that can accommodate a variety of body panel shapes and sizes.
Furthermore, many of the body panel mounting systems restrain the thermal expansion of the body panel and the ability of the body panel to rack and slip, which can induce stress on the body panel. A vehicle often experiences a large range of temperatures throughout its life, e.g., different seasons, different geographical regions, causing the body panel to expand or contract accordingly. Additionally, road conditions and the flexing of the vehicle chassis cause the body panel to rack and slip relative to the vehicle chassis. Accordingly, the body panel mounting systems that prevent or restrain the thermal expansion of the body panel and the ability of the body panel to rack and slip induce stress on the body panel and can reduce the expected lifetime of the body panel.
Therefore, there is a need for a body panel mounting system that decreases airflow disturbances, eases removal/installation, provides adaptability for different vehicles, and allows for thermal expansion.
Many of the needs outlined above are addressed by the present invention. It is an object of the present invention to provide a body panel mounting system that has a minimum number of attachment points that must be unfastened to remove or fastened to install a body panel on a vehicle, thereby decreasing the amount of time and labor required to remove/install the body panel.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a body panel mounting system that has a modular design such that the same part content can accommodate a variety of sizes and shapes of body panels, as well as left and right sides.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a body panel mounting system that will allow for dimension changes in a body panel due to thermal expansion caused by temperature variations.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, one or more panel supports are coupled to a vehicle body panel. A hinge bar and a latch bar are coupled to the one or more panel supports. One or more support brackets are coupled to the vehicle chassis and provide a support structure for the hinge bar. The latch bar is coupled to the chassis.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, one or more fastening collars are slideably coupled to the latch bar. The latch bar is coupled to the chassis via one or more fastening collars.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, one or more fastening brackets are coupled to the chassis. Fasteners are utilized to couple the fastening collars to the chassis.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a second body panel is mounted adjacent to the vehicle body panel. One or more panel supports are coupled to the second body panel. The hinge bar and the latch bar protrude through the panel supports coupled to the vehicle body panel and through at least one of the panel supports coupled to the second body panel.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, one or more elastic straps couple at least one panel support coupled to the vehicle body panel to at least one panel support coupled to the second body panel.